Metaphysics (Aristotle)
In the first century BC, a scholar named Andronicus of Rhodes arranged Aristotle's scattered lecture notes into a specific sequence. He placed a collection of treatises dealing with abstract subjects immediately after works on natural philosophy. Later editors referred to this new section as "those after the physics" in Greek. The phrase meta ta physika simply described the physical location of these scrolls within the library archive. Some ancient readers believed the prefix implied the subject matter transcended the study of nature. Others argued it merely indicated the order of reading for students. Aristotle himself never used the word Metaphysics to describe his own work. He called the inquiry First Philosophy or the study of being qua being. The title we use today emerged from the accidental placement of manuscripts rather than an authorial declaration.
Book Zeta opens by stating that being has several distinct senses. Aristotle seeks to identify substance as the primary kind of existence. He examines four candidates for what constitutes substance: essence, universal, genus, and material substrate. He dismisses matter because removing all properties leaves nothing with any characteristics. Essence becomes the criterion for substantiality since it defines what a thing is by its very nature. Book Theta then introduces the distinction between potentiality and actuality. Potentiality acts as a principle of change within another thing or within itself. Actuality represents the completed state of something that previously possessed only potential. This relationship functions like form and matter but adds the dimension of time. A builder exists potentially before constructing a house and actually once the structure stands complete.
Alexander of Aphrodisias wrote a commentary on the first five books of the text in the third century AD. His name appears on commentaries for the final nine books, though modern scholars doubt his authorship of those sections. Themistius produced an epitome of the work where book twelve survives today in Hebrew translation. Neoplatonists Syrianus and Asclepius of Tralles attempted to synthesize Aristotle's doctrines with their own cosmological views. Avicenna read the treatise forty times yet claimed he did not understand it until reading al-Farabi's Purposes of the Metaphysics. Ibn Rushd, known in Latin as Averroes, reached the peak of Arabic Aristotelian scholarship. Future generations designated him The Commentator due to his extensive writings on Aristotle's work. Maimonides wrote the Guide to the Perplexed in the twelfth century to demonstrate compatibility between Aristotelian science and Biblical revelation.
Nineteenth-century critics noted the wide variety of topics and seemingly illogical order within the collection. They concluded the work was actually a haphazard collection of shorter pieces thrown together. W. D. Ross published a general edition in 1924 that argued certain books formed a continuous work while others were inserted by editors. Werner Jaeger released another major edition in 1957 maintaining that different books came from distinct periods of Aristotle's life. Ross stated that even combining all accepted books did not constitute a complete single work. Everyman's Library later published the text in a rearranged order intended to make it easier for readers. New critical editions have emerged since 1970 focusing on specific books like Gamma, Alpha, and Lambda. Differences between these modern versions depend largely on the stemma codicum or manuscript lineage proposed by scholars.
William of Moerbeke translated the Greek manuscripts into Latin during the thirteenth century after the Fourth Crusade delivered original texts to Western Europe. His translations formed the basis for commentaries by Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, and Duns Scotus. These medieval scholastic philosophers used William's version because he had access to Greek manuscripts now lost to history. The treatise influenced writers such as Dante who drew upon its concepts for his Paradiso. Its impact extended across Greek, Muslim, and Christian philosophical traditions over many centuries. Modern scholars continue to debate whether the text represents a unified system or a collection of fragments. The work remains one of the greatest philosophical achievements in human history despite its complex transmission.
Up Next
Common questions
Who arranged Aristotle's scattered lecture notes into a specific sequence in the first century BC?
Andronicus of Rhodes arranged Aristotle's scattered lecture notes into a specific sequence in the first century BC. He placed a collection of treatises dealing with abstract subjects immediately after works on natural philosophy.
Why did Aristotle never use the word Metaphysics to describe his own work?
Aristotle himself never used the word Metaphysics to describe his own work because he called the inquiry First Philosophy or the study of being qua being. The title we use today emerged from the accidental placement of manuscripts rather than an authorial declaration.
What is the distinction between potentiality and actuality introduced in Book Theta of Metaphysics by Aristotle?
Book Theta introduces the distinction where potentiality acts as a principle of change within another thing or within itself while actuality represents the completed state of something that previously possessed only potential. This relationship functions like form and matter but adds the dimension of time.
Which medieval scholar wrote commentaries on the final nine books of Metaphysics despite modern doubts about his authorship?
Alexander of Aphrodisias wrote a commentary on the first five books of the text in the third century AD and his name appears on commentaries for the final nine books though modern scholars doubt his authorship of those sections.
When did W.D. Ross publish his general edition of Metaphysics arguing certain books formed a continuous work?
W.D. Ross published a general edition in 1924 that argued certain books formed a continuous work while others were inserted by editors. He stated that even combining all accepted books did not constitute a complete single work.